64th Congress ) TrnTTQwnp TfT?.PT?T?.si7.MTATTVT7,H /Document 



Ystse^sdon^^ HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES | No.To38 



SB 483 

W3^P3 DEVELOPMENT OF 
■ c!p! 1 :aST POTOMAC PARK 



'.•i 



LETTER FROM 
THE SECRETARY OF WAR AD INTERIM 

TRANSMITTING 

A REPORT OF THE OFFICER IN CHARGE OF 
PURLIC RUILDINGS AND GROUNDS, PRE- 
SENTING A COMPREHENSIVE PLAN FOR 
THE DEVELOPMENT OF EAST POTOMAC 
PARK AS A PURLIC RECREA- 
TION GROUND 




April 20, 1916.— Referred to the Committee on Appropriations 
and ordered to be printed, with illustrations 



WASHINGTON 

GOVERNMENT PRINTliSTG OFFICE 

1916 






D. 0-: ..- 
AUG 8 1916 



LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL. 



War Department, 

Washington, February 18, 1916. 
The Speaker of the House of Representatives. 

Sir: I have the honor to transmit a letter of the Chief of Engineers, 
United States Army, dated February 18, 1916, inclosing a report by 
the officer in charge of public buildings and grounds, dated February 
11, 1916, presenting a comprehensive plan for the development of 
East Potomac Park as a public recreation ground. 

I recommend that the letter and the report, together with the 
illustrations, be printed. 
Very respectfully, 

H. L. Scott, 
Secretary of War ad interim. 



War Department, 
Office of the Chief of Engineers, 

Washington, February 18, 1916. 
^From: The Chief of Engineers. 
To: The Secretary of War. 
Subject: Improvement of East Potomac Park. 

1. I have the honor to transmit a report of the officer in charge of 
public buildings and grounds, dated February 11, 1916, presenting a 
cfltmprehensive plan for the development of East Potomac Park as a 
public recreation ground, together with an estimate of the cost of 
^executing that plan. 
'^ 2. This plan has been prepared in the office of public buildings and 
grounds, which is well equipped for the preparation of such a project. 
It has been the subject of much thought and has been developed with 
great care. It has progressed under the supervision of the national 
Commission of Fine Arts, and has the approval of that body as a pre- 
liminary study. 

3. While I am not prepared to pass at this time upon all of the 
details of the proposed development, I am in favor of the plan as a 
whole. The estirtiates of costs appear proper, and the plan is con- 
sidered as a preliminary study only, and will be subject to further 
study when the consideration of its details is undertaken. 

4. The buildings of the Washington district engineer depot, in the 
.northeast corner of the park, adjacent to the railroad embankment, 

are shown on plan of the proposed development, but they will not 
be removed unless their removal is specially considered and authorized. 

5. It is recommended that the report herewith be transmitted to 
Congress with a recommendation that it be printed, with the illus- 
trations. 

Dan C. Kingman, 
Chief of Engineers, United States Army. 



DETELOPMENT OF EAST POTOMAC PARK. 



Office of Public Buildings and Grounds, 

Washington, February 11, 1916. 
From: The officer in charge. 

To: The Chief of Engineers, United States Army. 
Subject: Improvement of East Potomac Park. 

1. In accordance with the general instructions for the preparation 
of plans for the improvement of areas under charge of this office, and 
to meet the suggestions made from time to time to the officer in charge 
of public buildings and grounds by members of the Committee on 
Appropriations of the House of Representatives during hearings 
before that committee, I am forwarding herewith a comprehensive 
plan, for the development of East Potomac Park as a public recrea- 
tion ground, together with a report on the cost. It is suggested that 
this report be forwarded to Congress at an early date with the request 
that it be printed with the illustrations, which are considered an 
essential part. 

2. After careful consideration of the problem of improving East 
Potomac Park so as to provide outdoor recreation facilities in the Na- 
tional Capital, the following project is proposed: 

THE district OF COLUMBIA AS THE SEAT OF THE NATIONAL GOVERN- 
MENT. 

3. The District of Columbia is devoted almost exclusively to the 
purposes of the Government. Its population is made up of Govern- 
ment officials or those dependent upon such officials for their support. 
Washington is neither a manufacturing nor a commercial city; nor 
can private enterprise ever expect to compete with the Governmental 
agencies, under the conditions that prevail. The resident population 
not engaged in any occupation is so small as to be insignificant. 

4. The people of Washington, whether actually in Government 
employ or not, pay (either directly through ownership or indirectly 
through rent) the average taxation imposed by municipalities through- 
out the country. 

5. Congress in providing for the needs of the District of Columbia 
is only supplying to citizens of the United States living conditions to 
which they are entitled according to the present standards of civiliza- 
tion. Properly, also, Congress is expressing in visible ways the dig- 
nity of the Government and the power and importance of the Nation. 
It is a popular but untrue fiction that there is in the District of 
Columbia a large class of permanent residents for whom the Govern- 
ment is furnishing unusual favors or privileges. 

6. It can not be insisted upon too strongly that the one paramount 
interest in the District of Columbia is the Government interest; and 
that whatever Congress does here it does for the representatives of 



6 DEVELOPMENT OP EAST POTOMAC PARK. 

the people of the United States. The very fact that the citizens of 
the District are not permitted to exercise the right of suffrage sustains" 
the contention that the District exists primarily for the United States. 
The further fact that they are called upon to pay the usual rate of 
taxation indicates that they are enjoying no unusual privileges. 

7. Congress, therefore, may properly provide for the District of 
Columbia all those park and recreation features which civilization 
has come to demand, with the firm assurance that it is providing 
for its own household instead of conferring a favor on any special 
body of citizens. 

MODERN RECREATION FACILITIES FOR THE PUBLIC USE. 

8. Suitable public recreation facilities are now widely recognized 
as an essential factor in laying the foundations for good citizenship 
and for the healthful, moral, and physical development of the people. 
In recent years it has become more and more the duty of munici- 
palities to provide wholesome outdoor recreation for the public in such 
form as may be readily available for those who can not otherwise 
have such opportunities. Efforts are being made in many cities, 
not only to make labor conditions better, but to guide the people 
after working hours to those recreations which, by experience and 
popular demand, are found to contribute most to the making of a 
happy, healthy, and contented community. 

9. The dwellings and yards of the vast majority of city dwellers 
are too cramped for effective healthful recreation, and the ever- 
increasing tendency to live in tenements or apartments prevents 
their occupants from indulging in gardening and those other inci- 
dental minor outdoor recreations usually available to the inhabitants 
of houses. The street pavements of the city are the nearest and 
most convenient spaces that offer any reUef to the young, but streets 
can not, of course, be approved as permanent or satisfactory play- 
grounds. The so-called commercial amusements, such as theaters, 
bowHng, bilhards, pool, dancing halls, and the hke, furnish nothing 
toward the universal natural craving for outdoor recreation. The 
instinct for play is as fundamental and strong in the human being 
as it is in the lower forms of life and is limited to no race or class. 
Whatever form of mental or physical relaxation it may take, it is 
essential to man's well being. 

10. The use of the small neighborhood playground, yet in its 
infancy, has in the larger cities already become a habit with num- 
bers of our young people in their energetic daily hfe. One result is 
that juvenile delinquencies are being lessened, which means, in 
many cases, merely a wise transfer of expenditure for maintenance 
of penal institutions and incidental police control to the maintenance 
and equipment of recreation centers. Some great industrial corpor- 
ations have found it sound business policy to provide and maintain 
facilities for indoor and outdoor recreation of their employees. The 
activities in this direction indulged in by the large universities, 
colleges, and other schools in behalf of their students are too weU 
known to need more than passing comment, for the public has taken 
great delight in witnessing their great athletic contests. 



DEVELOPMENT OP EAST POTOMAC PARK. 7 

PUBLIC PARKS AS SERVICE CENTERS. 

11. The open stretches of large pubhc parks are fast becoming 
service centers with facilities for recreation for the whole com- 
munity rather than breathing spaces for the fortmiate few who 
reside in their immediate neighborhood, or for those who have 
private means of conveyance. No city, however well provided with 
modern physical necessities and conveniences, is now attractive to 
live in if the comfortable enjoyment by the people of outdoor pastimes 
and diversions is neglected or denied. In fact, the more these 
recreations are provided for, the more rapid the expansion of the 
city and the greater its growth as a successful modern social and 
economic center. They become civic assets of the first importance^ 
The new charters of some large municipal corporations such as 
Cleveland, Seattle, Detroit, and St. Louis, have created special 
departments of public welfare, with supervisory jurisdiction over 
open-air recreations. In brief, better recreation facihties have 
become an important feature in progressive municipalities. 

PROVISION FOR RECREATION FACILITIES IN CITY PLANNING. 

12. The great recognition which city planning has received siiice the 
World's Columbian Exposition in 1892 is given not merely because 
it solves the major utilitarian problems of transportation and other 
economic features, but because it also recognizes the needs of hirnian 
welfare and provides accessible recreation centers for the masses, as 
prime factors in the modern city's industrial and social efficiency. 
Chicago, Detroit, Boston, Kansas City, Harrisburg, Rochester, Des 
Moines, Denver, Nashville, St. Louis, and other cities too numerous 
to mention, are already in the vanguard of this movement and have 
ambitious plans for broadening their corporate functions in this direc- 
tion. Public parks, properly equipped for service, are the most prac- 
tical and economical m.eans of providing all persons with healthful 
outdoor exercise. From a,ll sections of the country reports are 
received of increase in appropriations for new or extended parks, and 
for their better improvement, equipment, and maintenance. Some 
cities that have lagged behind in this phase of municipal endeavor 
are now starting in with energy, while the larger cities, like New York, 
Philadelpliia, Boston, and Chicago have spent millions of dollars foi* 
this public purpose alone. 

13. A trip through South Park or West Park in Chicago, to Revere 
Beach in Boston, or Belle Isle Park in Detroit, will show the wide 
range of these municipal endeavors, and the appreciative use made 
of the facilities provided. For the young there are wading pools and 
sand boxes, apparatus for swinging and climbing, and an abundance 
of space for running and playing the children's games, while shelters 
near at hand for the watchful parents provide convenient and charm- 
ing spots for their enjoyment. For those of maturer years oppor^ 
tunity is afforded for indulging themselves in the more strenuous 
exercise of playing the many popular Am_erican games in the large 
open areas equipped for golf, cricket, baseball, and tennis. Drives 
and walks tiirough shady portions of the parks, along the shores of 
streams and lagoons, through cool valleys and other picturesquely 
treated sections, give diversion to those riding or on foot who may 
wish to withdraw from the exuberant enthusiasm of youthful play. 



8 development of east potomac park. 

Washington's need — a large public recreation and service 

PARK. 

14. The Park Commission of 1901, in its excellent and carefully 
studied report, states: 

While from the 1st of October till about the middle of May the climatic conditions 
of Washington are most salubrious, during the remaining four and a half months the 
city is subject to extended periods of intense heat, during which the public business 
is conducted at an undue expenditure of physical force. Every second year Con- 
gress is in session usually until about the middle of July, and not infrequently it 
happens that by reason of prolonged or special sessions during the hottest portion of 
the summer the city is filled with the persons whose business makes necessary a more 
or less prolonged stay in Washington. Singularly enough, up to the present time 
the abundant facilities which nature affords for healthful and pleasant recreation 
during heated terms have been neglected, and in this respect Washington is far 
behind other cities whose climatic conditions demand much less and whose oppor- 
tunities also are less favorable. 

This condition, so frankly observed then, still exists. In the sum- 
mer the heat, rendered doubly oppressive by the heavy humidity of 
the Washington climate, is very trying. Under such physical con- 
ditions access to the water is probably more appreciated and refresh- 
ing than any other form oi diversion. Bathing, swimming, and 
boating are the aquatic recreations indulged in by the more active, 
while the cool water views are restful and diverting to those who are 
unable to participate in these lively exercises. Salt-water bathing 
is not within easy reach of Washingtonians, and the distances to be 
traveled to reach the nearest points on the shores of Chesapeake 
Bay or the lower Potomac are deterrents to most of the heads of 
families in indulging in these opportunities. The upper Potomac, 
to the lower falls, is dotted during summer days with small water 
craft. Rock Creek Park and the Zoological Park offer hours of 
recreation and repose, but the many beauties of these parks are still 
inaccessible to the great majority of visitors. The capacity of the 
small municipal bathing pool has not been sufficient to accommo- 
date the more than 100,000 persons who desired to use it during the 
East season. It has been found necessary at times to divide the 
athers into three shifts, and on occasions to turn away hundreds 
without permitting them to bathe at all. This pool is nothing more 
than a temporary makeshift until better means can be provided. 
The constant demands for the use of the public baseball diamonds 
and tennis courts on the public grounds can not be met, notwith- 
standing a yearly increase in these facilities. The 11 small play- 
grounds under the municipal authorities are not sufficient in number 
to cover even the sectional needs of the city. 

15. For the great mass of the people who are obliged to stay in the 
city practically throughout the year nothing of the sort is easily 
accessible. Prevented during the hot months from, seeking relief at 
a distance, they would eagerly welcome the opportunities of enjoyment 
and rest at some conveniently situated, easily accessible service park 
as other cities have, a park where the family as a whole or individuals 
could find wholesome mental and ph3^sical recreation. 

16. Although Washington is not a manufacturing city in the ac- 
cepted meaning of that term, the Government maintains here great 
manufacturing establishments, notably the Naval Gun Shops, the 



DEVELOPMENT OF EAST POTOMAC PAEK. 9 

Government Printing OfEce, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, 
md the mail-bag repair shops. The employees in these Government 
factories need recreation facilities; and their children, who are growing 
up to take their places, need them still more. This need is the more 
pressing because, with the growth of the city, the vacant spaces which 
were available as playgrounds for the former generations are now 
occupied with buildings. 

Washington's opportunity for recreation in east potomac park. 

17. A rare opportunity is now presented for transforming the large 
flat area east oi the railway embankment below the Tidal Basin, com- 
monly called East Potomac Park, into a public recreation field of this 
type. It is now a part of the park system of the District of Columibia, 
under the jurisdiction and control of the Chief of Engineers, United 
States Army, who exercises his supervision through the Engineer 
officer in charge of public buildings and grounds. This area forms a 
continuation of Potomac Park, being separated from the latter by 
the railway embankment. The driveways in Potom_ac Park have 
been extended to the lower end of East Potomac Park, and new 
planting has been arranged to make these roads more attractive. At 
the same time, the fact that this park is adjacent to South Washing- 
ton, the one section of the city most in need of recreation places, makes 
it desirable to utilize the opportunities presented by a large area 
especially adapted to playgrounds and boating facilities. Fortu- 
nately, the area is sufficient, and the means of access are available for 
the accommodation of certain sports enjoyed by the people of the 
entire District. 

HISTORY OF the PARK. 

18. It is fitting at this point to give a brief history of the transfor- 
mation of this particular area from an unheal thful, disease-breeding 
mud flat to its present promising condition, a magnificent attainment 
which resulted from no haphazard scheme. While its entire develop- 
ment was carried on merely as an incident to the sanitary and harbor 
requirements of the National Capital, nevertheless it has been in 
harmony with the plans for the intelligent development of the area 
to meet the great prospective needs of the city. Even in the very 
inception of the project it was foretold that a splendid park addition 
to the city would be the result. This purpose has been fostered by 
Congress from the beginning. 

19. The oldest map of the Potomac River in this vicinity of which 
there is any record was made by Andrew Ellicot in 1792. This map 
apparently gives us the earliest authentic information of the topog- 
raphy of the river bed in the vicinity of Washington. The shoals 
are not indicated, however, only the channels being shown. 

20. The next authentic survey of record appears to have been 
made in 1834 by Lieut. Col. Kearney, of the Corps of Topographical 
Engineers. Kearney's map shows that at extreme low water there 
were two shoals near the Long Bridge, the smaller one a short distance 
below the bridge and about 1,000 feet from the Washington shore; 
the larger one close to the Virginia channel, crossed by the Long 



10 DEVELOPMENT OF EAST POTOMAC PAEK. 

Bridge, and exposing an area of about 100 acres at extreme low tide. 
A number of surveys were made from Kearney's time up to about 1880, 
but nothing definite was accomplished toward the reclamation of 
the shore areas until 1882. 

21. Beginning of work on the main reclamation project in the 
latter year was undoubtedly accelerated by the disastrous Potomac 
River flood of 1881, which caused considerable property damage 
on the river front of the city. A far more imperative reason, how- 
ever was the condition of the river front of the city which, by that 
time, had become so bad from a sanitary point of view as to render 
the adjacent portions of the city almost uninhabitable. For nearly 
a century flats and marshes had been in gradual process of formation, 
extending from Observatory Hill to a point about opposite the 
Arsenal below the Long Bridge. They were caused by deposits of 
sediment from the river and by the accretion of solid matter from the 
sewers. The sewer at the foot of Seventeenth Street discharged its 
contents directly on the nearest flats, then called Kidwell's Meadows. 
Covered with a dense rank growth of marsh sedges and other aquatic 
weeds, they were submerged for about one half the time and bare for 
the other half. In the latter condition they were exposed each day 
to the direct rays of the sun, and during the summer time produced 
great discomfort in the adjacent inhabited portions of the city 
because of the stench arising from the decomposing material. The 
District Commissioners of that period urged in strongest terms that 
some decisive action be taken to abate what had become well-nigh 
an intolerable nuisance. In a report made November 26, 1881, on 
the improvement of the sanitary condition of the Executive Mansion 
we find the following: 

Aside from the sanitary state of the Executive Mansion itself, and of its immediate 
drainage work, the problem is complicated by external conditions of which the very 
serious character has long been recognized. These external causes of insalubrity, 
affecting not only this building but more or less all that part of AVashington which 
has the same exposure, are due to two or three well-marked defects. 

The most glaring and perhaps the most important is the condition of the Kidwell 
Flats, not far from 1,000 acres of silty deposit of the Potomac which is nearly or quite 
exposed at low tide, which bears in part a rich aquatic vegetation, and which is a 
lodging ground for the sewage and other matters with which the waters of the Potomac 
are fouled. 

22. No argument is needed to prove that conditions at that time 
were offensive and detrimental to public health, and, looking at it 
from the advanced hygienic standards of the present day, it seems 
inconceivable that such conditions should have been tolerated for 
such a long time in the immediate vicinity of the White House. 

BEGINNING OF ACTUAL RECLAMATION. 

23. It is obvious, therefore, that the sanitary conditions discussed 
above had an important influence on the project of necessary harbor 
improvements, and that when reclamation of the flats was undertaken 
it would be as an economical accessory of the elimination of shoals 
and the deepening of the channels in the Potomac. The reclamation 
of the flats by the pumping of the dredged material on them was thus 
the natural step. 



DEVELOPMENT OF EAST POTOMAC PARK. 11 

24. In 1882 the Potomac Flats improvement project was definitely 
undertaken by Congress, and, under liberal annual appropriation 
throughout succeeding years, the reclamation of the entire area from 
Observatory Hill to the point opposite the arsenal, comprising in 
all about 739 acres, was accomplished. The work was divided into 
three sections, section 1 embracing what is now West Potomac Park, 
135 acres; section 2, the present Tidal Basin and its immediate sur- 
rounding areas, 277 acres: and section 3, the portion southeast of the 
railroad embankment, 327 acres — the subject of this report. 

CLEARING THE GOVERNMENT'S TITLE TO THE LAND. 

25. Inseparably connected with the project of reclamation was the 
necessity for clearing the areas of all claims of title adverse to the 
United States. The original act for these improvements made it 
the duty of the i^ttorney General to examine all claims of title to 
the premises to be improved, and to see that the rights of the Gov- 
ernment in all respects would be secured and protected, authorizing 
him also to enter suit in his discretion against all claimants of title 
under patents which might by mistake or otherwise have been 
improperly or illegally issued for any part of the marshes or flats 
within the limits of the proposed improvements. The further in- 
junction was given that no part of the moneys appropriated should 
be expended upon any place in respect to which the title of the 
United States was in doubt, or in respect to which any claim adverse 
to the United States has been made. Extensive and prolonged liti- 
gation ensued, but in the final decree the United States Supreme 
Court sustained all the contentions of the United States as to title, 
and removed all legal obstacles to the prosecution of the improve- 
ments. 

THE COST OF THE RECLAMATION OF THIS AREA. 

26. The work of reclamation lasted 31 years. The average cost 
per acre of placing the dredged material was about $4,450, which for 
the entire area may be figured at $1,459,600. The work was done 
under the supervision of the engineer office having the river improve- 
ment in charge. The area to be reclaimed served merely as a con- 
venient place of deposit for the dredged material, an incident to the 
major operations oi channel improvement. The cost to the United 
States of this park may be said, therefore, to have been nothing as 
far as the reclamation itself was concerned, for this additional ground 
represents an acquisition obtained without the direct outlay of a 
dollar. By these operations land has been created valued at more 
than $7,000,000 in East Potomac Park alone. 

THE PLAN OF IMPROVEMENT. 

27. Upon the transfer of this area to the Chief of Engineers, United 
States i^my, in 1914, as a part of the park system of the District of 
Columbia, there was made available a virgin tract of park land of 
327.53 acres well above the highest river floods, protected by a strong 
serviceable sea wall, the soil of which is composed of the richest 



12 DEVELOPMENT OP EAST POTOMAC PAEK. 

alluvium, promising excellent planting possibilities for landscape 
adornment. The surface has been left in such condition by the 
dredging operations that the entire area is adaptable with little 
expense for development into a huge recreation field. Slight undu- 
lations of surface are even now sufficiently pronounced to drain well 
the major portion, but of course here and there various minor drain- 
ing facilities will be required to dispose of occasional surface water 
which would otherwise collect or drain across roads and walks. 
Some small portions will have to be regraded to accommodate special 
recreation features, as, for instance, wading and bathing pools, tennis 
courts, baseball diamonds, etc.; but the work anticipated in this 
direction may be considered quite light in comparison with the 
extent of the project. In parts of the island volunteer trees have 
already grown to considerable heights; many of these trees can well 
be preserved and incorporated into the final development. 

28. The plan presented herewith, while subject to further study 
when the execution of its details is undertaken, has been developed 
with great care. It has been prepared by an experienced landscape 
designer well versed in the handling and treatment of similar large 
projects elsewhere and has progressed under the supervision of the 
National Commission of Fine Arts, whose members have taken great 
interest in the successful outcome of the project. It has the approval 
of that body as a preliminary study. 

29. Although the project embodies facilities for every anticipated 
modern recreation it does not present an extraordinarily ambitious 
scheme. Based on the experiences of other large cities it merely 
follows the installation of similar facilities already in successful 
operation in those cities. 

ROADWAY. 

30. The existing 30-foot circuit road running along the borders 
of the park wiU be available throughout, a few slight changes in its 
location being expected only at the site for the prospective boat 
harbor on the Washington Channel side and where the road passes 
beneath the railroad tracks in entering the park. 

THE STADIUM AND VICINITY. 

31. At the northeast corner of the grounds near the main entrance 
the plan provides for the erection of a U-shaped stadium, located 
in such a m.anner as to command a full view of the entire field, the 
river beyond, and in the distance the rolling hills of Virginia and 
Maryland. The stadium itself would be of sloping earthen banks, 
and will be inconspicuous from the White House and the Monument 
Grounds. Its central portion is to be equipped with fixed concrete 
seats, and would have an actual seating capacity of 6,000, while on 
the turf slopes of the two wings of the U-shaped structure, temporary 
wooden seats can be so placed as to accommodate a maximum seat- 
ing capacity of 14,000. On special occasions when large crowds 
gather, temporary wooden seats can be placed at the open end of 
the stadium so as to expand this seating capacity to about 40,000. 
Passageways through the center of the stadium embankment would 



DEVELOPMENT OF EAST POTOMAC PAEK. 13 

approach the field from the railroad terminal at the rear of the 
stadium, and be arranged so as to give convenient space for locker 
rooms, toilet rooms, and like conveniences for players and spectators. 
Within the stadium angle lie the running tracK, one-third mile long, 
and a 220-yard straightaway dash, while its shape permits the 
games of baseball and football to be played before large audiences. 
At each end of the wings are permanently located football practice 
fields; these are in turn again adaptable to other sports when foot- 
ball is not in season. 

THE PARADE GROUND. 

32. The large parade ground of 60 acres which the stadium faces 
will conveniently accommodate 13 baseball diamonds. These are 
so disposed that all but two of them can be equipped with permanent 
backstops, while these two which are located in the center of the field 
can be supplied with easily removable backstops set in sockets so 
as not to interfere with other games when the space is needed. The 
great advantage of this arrangement is that the whole field can be 
cleared of players and their paraphernalia so as to be available on 
short notice for parades, tournaments, pageants, community fes- 
tivals, holiday celebrations, in fact all the larger civic attractions 
and games so popular in recent years. 

THE WADING POOL AND CHILDREN'S PLAYGROUND AND THE LARGE 

SWIMMING POOLS. 

33. To the east of this large field and parade ground, set in a 
grove of overhanging trees, is located a children's wading pool of 
about three-fourths acre in extent. Such a feature has become 
very popular in other cities and should be installed as early as 
possible. 

34. In an extension of this large grove would be located the various 
playground apparatus for the use of others of the younger element — 
swings, slides, sand courts, handball courts, adequate space for toss- 
ing ball, and for races and wrestling. 

35. To the east and west of the wading pool there would be arranged 
capacious swimming pools, each pool having an area of about If 
acres in extent. They are to be constructed with sand beaches 
having a gradual increase from wading depth to a point opposite 
where a depth of about 20 feet of water will be available for diving. 
These pools will be supplied with filtered water, kept constantly 
purified by approved methods of treatment. The need for the 
wading and swimming faciUties is probably more insistent at the 
present time than for any other form of outdoor recreation. The 
small municipal bathing beach in the Monument Grounds can accom- 
modate only a small portion of those who wish to swim and soon 
will have to be removed. The use of the Tidal Basin is somewhat 
restricted, investigation having shown that the use of any local 
bathing place supplied by raw Potomac River water is to be avoided 
on account of its pollution. In all such bathing pools, whether 
municipally or privately owned, the greatest care has to be taken 
not only to supply the purest of water, but also to keep them clean 



14 DEVELOPMENT OF EAST POTOMAC PAEK. 

from contamination by constant effective treatment to prevent the 
development and spread of anything detrimental to the health of 
the community. Extended investigations into bathing facilities, 
both in this country and abroad, have shown the great danger of 
contamination by the spread of many diseases as a result of bathing 
in unclean water. In every case where an invitation is extended 
to the public to use bathing facilities a serious public duty is there- 
fore involved to see that every precaution is taken to raake the 
water fit from a hygienic point of view. The bacteriological con- 
dition of the water should closely approximate that of drinking 
water, as this is the standard that is being urged for all swimming 
pools. 

36. Every effort would be made by proper equipment to have these 
pools unexcelled hygienically. It would be false economy to plan 
for them anything but the best and most modern approved equipment. 
By furnishing a safe and sanitary center for bathers in the city 
their installation will diminish the promiscuous and surreptitious 
bathing going on in the rivers and branches surrounding Washington, 
and without doubt will contribute materially to a decrease of diseases. 

37. A pumping station containing apparatus for refiltration and 
for the chemical treatment of the water to be used will necessarily 
be installed in connection with the pools. 

38. The two bathhouses, shown on the shores of the pools, are 
to contain the usual modern equipment for storage, locker room, 
shower baths, toilet and retiring rooms, and working quarters for 
the attendants. 

BOATHOUSES AND HARBOR ON WASHINGTON CHANNEL SIDE. 

39. A short distance south of the group of pools the plan shows an 
artificial indentation on the Washington Channel side of the island, 
which is intended for small boats. The water area in this indenta- 
tion will be sufficiently large to give a safe and convenient landing 
and shelter for boats of moderate size. Provision for hire of boats, 
"where patrons can rent rowboats, small sailboats, la,unches, or canoes 
for short periods, can be made near the railroad channel, and perhaps 
can be lea,sed to concessionaires. The other boathouses are to 
afford space for the storage of the privately-owned small-sized water 
craft, such as canoes, shells, rowboats, and perhaps small motor 
boats, as well as for locker and rest rooms. The larger water craft 
above a certain prescribed size would necessarily be obliged to 
anchor in the channel, as they do at present, and take on passengers 
either from a float direct or by tender. At the southeast corner of 
this harbor there is to be an inclined way on which disabled boats 
may be hauled up for inspection or repair. 

THE CROSS-PARK CANAL. 

40. The beginning of the connecting waterway leading from the 
Washington Channel side to the Potomac River leads out from this 
basin. Upon its pleasant irregular turfed banks one can draw his 
canoe or boat to rest in passing. This feature, so attractive in some 



DEVELOPMENT OP EAST POTOMAC PARK. 15 

large parks in other cities, giv^es a safe and agreeable playground for 
the oarsman and a convenient cut-off for those wishing to go up the 
river and having neither the time nor the desire to make the journey 
through the deeper water around the lower point of the park. 

41. It is believed that this waterway will be one of the most popular 
points of attraction in the whole park. 

THE MAIN FIELD HOUSE. 

42. Opposite the center of the boat harbor and situated upon an 
inland elevation is to be located the main large field house. From 
this commanding situation its verandas will afford views of great 
beauty. To the rear and across the channel is the busy water front 
with its boulevard and modern keys, and farther back the white 
dome of the Capitol and the masses of the large Government build- 
ings. In the front one looks out on the broad expanse of the Potomac, 
with the beautiful hills and fields of Virginia surmounting the opposite 
shores. The accommodations for players and spectators will include 
refectory provisions that are a necessary part of the modern facilities 
for the convenience of the public. The house will also be available 
for band concerts and dances and for meetings of all kinds. 

SOME OF THE MAJOR RECREATIONS. 

43. Grouped about the field house and within immediate view are 
the major recreations — 31 tennis courts to the south singly and in 
pairs and some inclosed in shrubbery so the players may be more 

Erivate if they so desire. Between them and the building are 4 
asket-ball courts. To the north, immediately in the foreground, 
are 10 croquet and 3 roque courts. Directly in front of the central 
porch is the cricket ground, of about 4 acres in extent, and the main 
public golf course. The latter is so arranged that, in addition 
to an 18-hole course, one of 9 holes for amateurs is available. By 
taking advantage of the existing trees and those to be planted, 
portions of these courses are to weave in and about the groups of 
planting and groves of trees, presenting an appearance similar to the 
natural countryside so desirable in every golf course. 

44. Nested in the area about one-third mile south of the field 
house and halfway the length of the island is a small lagoon. This 
lagoon will add greatly to the picturesqueness of the course and the 
general attractiveness and interest of the whole park. It offers the 
possibility of making it one of the most charming and beautiful spots 
in the scheme. It will also afford a safe and convenient skating pond 
in the wintertime. 

45. Eight miles of artificial walks with shelters and seats com- 
manding the best views will lead to the main attractions of the park 
and to the many natural vistas and landscapes. 

46. For the lover of horses a soft road winds amongst the trees, 
and runs for a considerable distance beside a straightaway driving 
course of a half-mile length. Three miles of bridle paths skirt the 
shores. 



16 DEVELOPMENT OF EAST POTOMAC PARK. 

TREATMENT OF THE POINT OF THE ISLAND. 

47. At the southern end of the park a small channel is proposed so 
that those who may wish to take a short journey to the point by way 
of the water will have some shelter. On the small island so created, 
but connected to the main portion of the park with an appropriate 
bridge, will be a small shelter house equipped with toilet conveniences 
and refectory to accommodate the many visitors who even now make 
enthusiastic use of the motor roadway around the park. On this 
point an opportunity is also afforded for placing a suitable artistic 
memorial in such a way as to add a proper and natural feature to the 
landscape. 

ACCESSIBILITY. 

48. The question of making the park accessible has been given 
particular consideration. Compared with similar attractions in other 
cities, this park is already reached with comparative ease by reason 
of its close proximity to the more densely populated portions of the 
city. Street railway hues with terminals are planned so that in times 
of large gatherings 40,000 people can be handled without undue 
crowding, and ample space has been reserved for the storing and 
switching of the street cars. The railway traffic yard at the stadium 
is proposed to be served by the same tracks that extend to the boat 
harbor but which would not be used except on the occasion of the con- 
gregation of large crowds. These transportation features are, of 
course, subject to change in detail depending on the practicability 
of construction. 

49. Private ferries are contemplated directly connecting the nearest 
points of the transportation lines serving the water front, probably at 
L, Water, and Seventh Streets, with that portion of the park having 
boating facilities on the artificial channel. 

50. Ample provision for the parking of automobiles has been made 
not only at the lower end of the island but at the main field house and 
the boathouses, these points being the most unportant places where 
such parking facilities are necessary. The space reserved for parking 
near the railroad stadium will accommodate more than 300 automo- 
biles, and is so arranged in conjunction with the railroad terminals 
that automobiles can come in at one end and out at the other without 
crossing the railroad tracks. At the point near the boat harbor, where 
the railroad terminus and ferry come together, appropriate accommo- 
dations are planned for large numbers of "jitney" and mo tor busses; it 
is believed that great numbers of such service vehicles will be availa- 
ble as soon as visitors commence to make use of the park and its facili- 
ties, and that these would likely take care of the demand for trans- 
portation for a few years until the work on the major improvements 
has advanced sufficiently for providing for better facilities. 

ESTIMATE OF COST OF IMPROVEMENTS PROPOSED. 

51. It is estimated that the total cost of improving the park com- 
plete with all its features installed will closely approximate one and 
one-half million dollars. It is planned to distribute this total cost, 
over a progressive period of construction of about 10 years, which 



DEVELOPMENT OP EAST POTOMAC PAEK. 17 

would require annual appropriations of about $100,000. The follow- 
ing is a rough estunate of the improvements proposed, based on the 
preliminary plan and according to data obtained regarding the cost 
of similar features elsewhere. Not until detailed working drawings 
are prepared for the various individual features could a more definite 
statement of cost be made. 

Approximate preliminary estimate of cost. 

5, 500 feet of oil-macadam roads for all kinds of traffic $33 349 

7,920 feet of soft dirt roads for driving only .' ' ' 10' OOO 

3,000 feet of dirt straightaway for horses [ n' qoo 

5,000 feet of curbs 4 000 

32,000 feet of macadam walks ]" 39' ooO 

8,200 feet of dirt saddle paths V . 4 000 

Stadium : ' 

125,000 cubic yards earthwork |75^ 000 

63,000 square feet roadway 7000 

3 tunnels ! [..[[.'."[[[ 5^600 

2 toilets 5 000 

Concrete seats 18 000 

n on ^ ^ • J • . . '- 110. 600 

-^,120 feet cinder mixture running track, including 220-yard dash 5 830 

13 ball fields, including 52 bases and 13 back stops (not including general ' 

grading) 2, 000 

2 football fields (not including general grading) 1 OO0 

2 swimming pools, If acres each: ' 

Grading _ 150^ 000 

^^'^ 20, 000 

Fence 7 500 

Concrete sides and bottom. 40 'oOO 

A- 1 T- T ■ 117,500 

1 wading pool, one-halt acre: 

Grading 968 

Sand I 209 

Concrete coping ^ | ^ i qqq 

— 3 177 

Golf courses (in addition to general grading) 2 400 

Golf lake, grading and shaping 7*200 

31 tennis courts, of clay 1 250 

Wire inclosures for tennis courts, including gates .'..!..'!!'.!!!!"!!! i 275 



25 wooden shelters at tennis. 



8,750 



4 basket-ball courts, clay surface '"!!"!!!" l' 000 

10 croquet courts, clay surface !.!...!!!!.'!!''!!." i' 000 

16 wooden shelters at croquet and roque courts 4' 800 

3 roque courts, clay surface, plank cushions " l' 000 

Sea walls at boat harbor and bridges \. 26' 000 

Cross canal and boat harbor excavation "'!!"!"!!'. 81' 000 

Harbor piers and breakwater of wood and piles and plank 5' 500 

Pump house of tile and stucco g' qoo 

Machinery (pumps, filters, boiler, etc., for pm-ifying and' renewing 

water in pools) _ 50 000 

2 bathhouses of tile and stucco "!!!!!!!! 96' 000 

Fittings and equipment, such as plumbing, lockersj etc .'. .".'!!!!!!!!!!.! 30' 000 

2 ferry houses of tile and stucco " 25' 000 

Railway terminals of tile and stucco !.'!!.'.'!!.'.'.'!!.'!! lo' 000 

2 large boathouses of tile and stucco .' 30' ooO 

Boat landings, floats, and bridge !!! ^ .'.'.'!'"'.'.' ! 2' 500 

2 small boathouses of tile and stucco .'.'"!.'.'''.'.'.".'.*.'." 20' 000 

1 field house of tile and stucco, complete, with all plumbing,' lockers etc' " 200' 000 

1 carriage shelter of tile and stucco lo' 000 

1 pergola of stove brick and wood 4' 000 

1 footbridge of cement, with stone face .'.'.'.'.'.'.' o'oOO 

2 driveway bridges of cement, with stone face '.'.'.'.".".".".'.'.'.'. 60' 000 

H. Doc. 1038, 64-1 2 



18 ' DEVELOPMENT OF EAST POTOMAC PABK. 

300 acres grading and seeding $100, 000 

Trees and shrubs 10, 000 

Sewage disposal by septic tank system 77, 500 

Rain-water drains 20, 000 

1, 241, 631 
Engineering, supervision, contingencies, etc 248, 326 

Total. 1, 489, 957 

If a sea-wall rail is used add (3 rail wrought steel pipe) 55, 440 

Total 1, 545, 397 

52. Washington in 1860 had a population of 75,080; in 1870, 
131,700; in 1880, 177,624; in 1890, 230,392; in 1900, 278,718; and 
in 1910, 331,069; an increase of an average of more than 51,000 per 
decade during the past 50 years. It will not be many years before 
the city has reached the 500,000 mark, and a look into the future 
based upon the growth of the past 100 years will show the Capital 
City of the Nation exceeding the 1,000,000 mark. It is evident that 
some start along large lines should be made without delay in meeting 
the demands for recreation of a constantly increasing community. 
The completion of the project outlined above will go far toward 
meeting the situation, and wOl place the city in favorable comparison 
with other large municipalities, both in this country and abroad. 

Wm. W. Harts, 
Colonel, United States Army. 

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